When Autumn Comes I Still Think of You
by thundercow
Summary: Natsu grows up. Or, the ten years Hinata and Kageyama spend pretending they aren't boyfriends. — Natsu.


**when autumn comes i still think of you**

She feels the volleyball fall into the seat of her palm. Stepping back, she balances its weight the same way she balances between the choices positioned all around her before sending it to the girl already in mid-leap. Ah, that Aki's let her impatience get the best of her once again. Natsu has no choice but to play it by ear.

Aki flies. Her long ponytail snakes in the air, her arm readying for a vicious spike.

The wall of blocker rears up over the net, reacting instantaneously to Aki's premature leap. Natsu falls back from the net and watches the ball hit the peak of its arc. She blinks the sweat out of her eyes as Aki swings her arm down. The ball slams explosively against the impenetrable hands of the blockers.

"Shit!" Aki curses when the ball gets deflected.

Their libero, Rika, bullets forward in an attempt to save the ball. She misses it by half a step.

A whistle blows. The match is over. 20 – 25.

Karusano's Girls Volleyball Team has lost.

...

Natsu is six. She's old enough to notice that her brother has been coming home very late ever since he started attending high school.

"Big bro!" She wanders into his room one night. He hasn't gone to bed yet. Good.

Her brother looks up from his desk. There's a ton of papers and eraser dust scattered over its surface, and the light of the desk lamp makes his hair look even more like an orange. "What is it?" he asks with a yawn. "I can't play with you today cause' of homework."

"No. I wanna ask why you keep coming home late!" she demands to know, stomping a foot down.

Her brother smiles at this. "Because of volleyball practice," he replies, pointing to the wall of his room.

Natsu follows his finger, and her gaze comes to rest on a black jacket hanging from a plastic hook. Her eyes widen. The words printed on it look cool even though she can't read them.

"What's that say?"

"Karusano!" her brother says with a beaming smile. "You know, like crows? Those black birds that sometimes get in the trash? That's my highschool, and that's my volleyball jacket. It's proof than I'm part of the team."

Natsu doesn't quite understand what a ball has to do with school, nor does she understand why her brother is talking about the noisy birds that appear in the early morning outside the garbage collecting area.

"Volleyball?" she decides to ask about the thing that sounds the most interesting.

Her brother raises his eyebrows and pauses for a moment. "Come to think of it, Natsu, you've never played volleyball before, huh?"

"No!"

"Alright then. I'll show you next time!"

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

...

"It was my fault," Aki says in the locker room, wiping her towel against her face furiously. Natsu can tell that she's trying to wipe away any stray tears.

"Don't say that." Natsu puts her energy drink down on the floor. "I was the one who tossed the ball to you, after all." Her voice doesn't break, and she's glad that she can at least manage that. Though no one says it, Natsu is very aware that she made a poor call during that last ball.

"Girls!" their coach calls their attention with a clap of her hands. "There's no point trying to decide who gets how much blame. Everyone pulled their weight. We know our weaknesses better now, so we just have to work on them."

"Coach Yui is right!" Rika jumps on her feet and glares at Natsu and Aki. Her dark, cropped hair is still damp with sweat. "We have the next Interhighs! We'll spend the next half a year preparing for it, won't we?"

"Definitely!" Aki throws her towel aside and stands at attention. "I'll do my best to improve!"

"Me too!" Natsu joins in. "Sorry for being such a downer, Coach!"

Coach shakes her head, her expression softening with a smile. "It's alright. I can't say that I haven't been there before myself." The woman crosses her arms, her shoulders tightening up. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, alright, team?"

"We won't! Natsu, let's begin practicing right now!" Aki grabs onto her wrist and attempts to pull her out of the locker room.

"What? Now?" Natsu cries in protest. "We just finished a match half an hour ago. We have to take a break first!"

"Well, we did. Thirty whole minutes!"

Rika's exasperated expression must be mirroring Natsu's.

"Let's pack our things first and get back to school before we start talking about practice," Coach says with a chuckle.

"But before that, shouldn't we uh – do a team huddle, or something?" Nanase chimes out while adjusting the frame of her spectacles. It constantly amuses Natsu that her team captain is such a softspoken girl.

"Right!" She pulls Aki back into their circle and throws a sweaty arm over her. The team gathers together. Natsu presses her shoulder close to Aki's and raises her head to shout.

"Team Karusano will do better next year!"

"Yeah!" the girls yell in unison.

"… We will." Aki nods, blinking her eyes over and over again.

Natsu can feel her shaking, and clutches her even closer.

...

On a Saturday morning, her big brother brings a friend over to their house. Natsu has never seen this friend of his before. He's much taller than her brother, but that doesn't deter Natsu's curiosity. His hair is dark and his mouth is pursed as her brother herds him into the backyard.

Natsu climbs out from under the veranda and toddles over to the towering boy. He's got a ball in his hands. That must be what her brother calls a 'volleyball'.

"Hello!" she chirps up at him.

"Uh…" The boy stares down at her with narrowed eyes, as if shocked by her greeting. He's rude for not replying her.

Natsu grabs onto his pant leg and tugs. "I'm Natsu!" She continues in a gallant gesture of friendship, like what her teachers taught her in kindergarten. One should always introduce themselves before asking others for their name. "Who're you?"

"Kageyama," the boy finally replies her.

"Kage? Kage…?"

Her brother interrupts them with a squawk. He'd gone in to get some drinks, and had set the orange juice aside to join them. "Your name's too long for her to remember, Kageyama! Try your first name instead!"

"Huh?! What for, dumbass?"

"Didn't I just say why?"

"Your reason makes no sense!"

"Hey, hey!" Natsu has to squeeze herself between them to get their attention. "I still don't know big bro's friend's name!" she reminds them pointedly.

"See?" Her brother folds his arms and says.

"Don't sound so cocky, you! Who was the little shrimp who said they needed to borrow a volleyball and then made me come all the way over here to the middle of nowhere just to give it to them!"

The tall boy clamps onto her brother's head with both hands, letting the volleyball drop to his feet. Natsu picks up the ball as it rolls to a stop in front of her. It's light enough for her to carry.

"Why're you complaining? You agreed to it when I as– Ow, ow, ow! My hair, Kageyama! My hair!"

"Kage, Kage, what is this?" Natsu ignores her brother and tugs at his friend's pant leg once more. It's fun, like pulling on a bell. "How do you play with it?"

Kage tilts her brother's head to one side as he replies in a stiff voice, "Well. There are a few ways."

"Like? How?" Natsu prods him for more information, standing on the tips of her toes.

He seems to finally relent, releasing her brother to address her properly. "You can go '_ban!_' with it, or '_whoosh!_' or even '_piang!_'" Kage crouches down and explains, his arms mimicking the various sound effects.

"Oohh," Natsu coos, eagerly imagining all the things the boy is describing for her. "Will you show me, Kage?"

He stares at her. She stares back. Perhaps a big smile will help her diplomacy.

"… Alright." Kage's mouth is still pursed, but it seems less hardened now.

Natsu feels someone ruffle her hair. She turns around to face her brother. "Natsu, don't call him 'Kage'. That's not his real name," he tells her.

"Oh? What is it, then?"

Her brother raises his index smile and smiles. "Tobio!"

Natsu thinks about it for a bit. She decides she prefers calling him 'Kage'.

"Don't say my name so easily, dumbass!" Kage's face flares up. He's as red as the Japanese flag, Natsu observes this phenomenon with awe.

She tosses the volleyball up and down in her hands as her brother and Kage chase one another across the entire backyard.

...

"You love volleyball a lot," Natsu says to Aki as they walk home. She'd managed to convince her friend that they would have to rest at home for today to avoid any sore muscles. Practice would resume the first thing tomorrow morning.

"I love what volleyball's given me," Aki corrects her. She looks up from the pavement and locks her brown eyes with Natsu's. "Don't you?"

"Well, I do. But not to the extent that I'd cry over it," Natsu says as she pushes her bicycle.

Aki frowns at her. "What's wrong with crying?"

"Nothing at all!" Natsu holds up one hand defensively. "My brother always used to cry whenever he lost a big game too," she recalls with a snicker. "I just didn't expect you to cry about it."

"Natsu, you're really dense sometimes," Aki says with a sigh. She manages to sound disapproving and tired in the same breath. "Why do you think I cried?"

"Because we lost," Natsu answers immediately, arching an eyebrow soon afterwards. " - Right?"

Aki doesn't say anything at first. She skips from the shadow of one fire hydrant along the road to the next. When the sole of her sneaker lands in the middle of a shadow, she looks over her shoulder, her long hair cascading across her back and her skirt rippling against the gentle wind. "That's only half right," she says with a smile that Natsu wants to call pretty. She settles for 'mischievous' instead.

Natsu sways here and there, the wheels of her bicycle squeaking as she follows after her friend, thinking about the other half of the answer.

"Have you got it yet?"

"Hold on, let me think for awhile more."

They come to a stop at a pedestrian crossing before Aki's patience runs out. "It's because I didn't score the point."

"Eh? That's it? But it's not the first time you got blocked." Natsu scrunches her face as she thinks. "Actually, since it's always so obvious when you're attacking, the opponent learns how to read you and you get blocked quite often."

Aki clutches her stomach with dramatic flair. "Don't you have any delicacy?"

"I'm just saying the truth," Natsu informs her as they cross the road.

"Yeah, you don't really know how to filter your thoughts," Aki says this almost fondly, pulling on the strap of her shoulder bag.

"Never learned how to," Natsu agrees with a carefree whistle.

"So, you're not keeping anything from me?" Aki asks, sounding serious this time.

Natsu shakes her head and gives her a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean like – like that you're disappointed or unhappy with it," Aki says, running a hand across the back of her head and messing up her hair in the process. Natsu reaches up to comb it back in place for her.

"Of course not! How long've we played together?"

"That's exactly why!" Aki's voice is a little louder now. "It's because we've played so much together, that's why. You've always been my setter. You sent the ball to me even though you could've sent it elsewhere. I remember that Hatori-chan was wide open. Everyone on the team must've known it too. But you sent it to me because you wanted me to score a point – and I didn't manage to do it in the end."

She kicks at a small pebble on the ground. "You'd think that after so long, I'd be able to fulfil the trust my setter has in me."

Natsu remains silent for a while, watching the taller girl shuffle forward and dig her hands into the pockets of her skirt. The two of them walk past the shopping district and the park's entrance without exchanging any words. This is a road they've taken since their first year in middle school. Now, they're already in their second year of high school. Time has a funny way of working. Natsu thinks that despite all the things that have changed, there are other things that have stayed the same.

Aki looks over at her, her lower lip trembling.

"You are such a dummy," Natsu laughs it off. "I didn't know you were still so self-conscious! This reminds me of how you were when we first met!"

"I've just learned not to show it outwardly, is all," her friend says, voice muffled by her shirt collar.

"I'll say the same thing I said to you in middle school – I'll set the ball for you, as many times as it takes. As long as you jump for it, I'll make sure it'll get to you. Whether or not you get blocked, my job is to set the ball for you." Natsu raises her pinkie finger as she finishes.

"You can be oddly inspirational when you try." A smile emerges on Aki's face as she catches Natsu's pinkie with her own.

"Oh, it's just something a great setter taught me."

Then, Natsu raises one leg over the seat of her bicycle. "Hey, get on."

She gives Aki a ride all the way to her street and doesn't decline when Aki invites her in for dinner.

...

"Kage!"

Natsu races out of her room as she hears the sound of the front door opening. She dashes up to the entrance to greet her brother and Kage, who must have come over to have dinner with them again. It's been a long time since he last came over. Her brother had told her that now that they were in their third year of high school, they had to spend all their time studying or playing volleyball, and nothing outside of that.

Natsu is upset by this predicament. Surely, there must be some way to create extra time for Kage to come over to their house more often! Surely!

"Yo, Natsu." Kage gives her a gruff nod as he removes his shoes and leaves them clumsily near the shoe rack.

"Will you have time to practice some volleyball with me after dinner?" she asks him. Even though Natsu is in her second year of elementary school and has tons more homework to do compared to when she was in kindergarten, she thinks spending some time to play with Kage will be acceptable.

"Eh?! Why don't you ever ask me?" her brother exclaims.

"Because, big bro, you aren't a _setter_!" she explains clearly, placing all her emphasis on the last word.

"Yeah, but I'm a middle blocker! That's cool too! Y'know, I'm the ace of the team now. All the juniors look up to me!" Her brother wipes his thumb against his nose as he proclaims this across the entire dinner table.

"Don't say that so proudly," Kage grumbles and glares as he slides into a chair. Natsu hops onto the one next to his and grins when her mentor-to-be helps her sit properly.

"I'm gonna be a _setter_ when I grow up!" she announces. "Kage promised he'd train me!"

"Urgh, see what you've done, Kageyama!" her brother groans.

"What?" There is a satisfied, almost challenging edge in Kage's response.

"Yeah, what?" Natsu repeats after him as she reaches for her pair of chopsticks, much to her brother's dismay.

...

"You've always been a good setter." Aki sounds as if she's going to drift away. She's splayed out on her bed and tossing an old volleyball up and down. The electric fan is pointing only at her. Natsu thinks this is unfair, but hasn't made any complaints.

Her soft spot for Aki is one of her ultimate weaknesses. No one must know of its existence. She vaguely wonders if Aki is aware of it, and quickly works on redirecting her attention.

Looking up from the pile of summer homework she has to plow through, Natsu grins. "I learned from the best!" she says, taking the compliment in stride. "But I'm still nowhere as good as Kage is," she adds, disheartened by the long, winding road ahead of her.

"I'm still jealous that you got to watch the famous Karusano Boys Team train so many times." Aki tosses the ball over to her. It lands in the diamond of Natsu's hands before it can fly over her head. She urges it back to Aki in one clean motion.

Her friend sits up from the mattress and passes the ball back to her. This isn't the first time they're rallying in Aki's room.

"Pfft," Natsu lets out a small laugh. "Once you get to know them, they aren't as cool as all the stories make them seem. Kage's the only one who's real cool."

When Aki bumps the ball back to her, Natsu catches it and stands upright. She closes her eyes and holds her elbows and wrist up the way she'd been taught, feeling the ball's shape with every inch of her fingers. "Being able to throw at the perfect angle to anyone on the court without any hesitation – that's what I want to be like, too."

When she meets with silence, Natsu cracks open her eyes. Aki is looking at her, her lips pressed into a very thin line.

"Are you jealous?" Natsu asks with a devious smirk.

"I – I'm not!" Aki immediately bites back, her hands wrinkling up her bedsheets. "I'm just mad that you still haven't gotten our team a chance to play a match with them. I'm getting impatient, Natsu!" She flips her long hair over her shoulders before squaring them. "I really want to have a game with them!"

"They aren't high schoolers like us, so it's hard to get them all together for a proper game. My brother's useless with organising stuff like this so I've told Yachi and big sis' Kiyoko to tell me when they have the time!"

Natsu tosses the volleyball in a low arc. How many times as Aki hit a ball from this same trajectory?

Aki lets the ball land on the floor of her room without bothering to save it. "I understand that, but I can't help it. I just want to get better as fast as I can," she says.

"… I know," Natsu replies with a smile. She means it.

...

"So this is Hinata's sister? She's so cute!" A guy with a buzz cut rises over her with an open smile.

"Yes. In fact, I fail to see any family resemblance," the tallest boy of the group sneers behind his hand.

"Alright, don't crowd around her or you'll scare her," a third person – older, cooler than everyone else instructs them in a deep voice. Just before Natsu can politely inform him that she's already ten – _**ten**_ – and is not even the least bit scared of any of them, she feels someone tugging her out of the volleyball court and over to the benches.

"What is it, Kage?" Natsu looks up and harrumphs.

"Our match with the other members of the neighbourhood association is going to start. Your brother's in the toilet so I have to make sure you stay out of trouble," he informs her, frowning like he usually does.

"I can take care of myself, y'know!" She puffs her cheeks at him.

"Right. You can, can't you?"

"Uh, Kageyama, I don't think you should believe her so easily," another person says. His hair is light and soft. Natsu likes the mark under his eye.

Before she can give the two tall men concrete evidence to back up her statement, Natsu hears someone gasp loudly. The next moment, a girl with a cute ribbon in her hair has run up to her, eyes wide with shock. Behind her is an incredibly beautiful woman. Natsu feels her mouth gape a little, only to snap her attention back when she hears high-pitched shouting.

"Gahh! Hinata-kun? What happened! You look shorter! And why are you in a dress?" the small girl's voice is full of distress. "Has something strange happened while I was gone? You've never looked so cute before, Hinata-kun! Did someone bring a shrink ray today?!"

"This is Shouyou's sister."

How odd, when did Kage start calling her brother by his first name?

The blonde blinks, taking a second to register the news. "Oh. I see. That makes sense. So this is Hinata-chan, then?" She clears her throat, her ears turning as pink as the earrings she's wearing.

"Hitoka, can you look after her?" Kage requests as he does a few leg stretches. "She wants to watch a real volleyball match."

"Ah, sure, sure!"

"Can't I play volleyball too?" Natsu pouts.

Kage shifts his eyes away for a moment, hesitating to answer.

"Why don't you play with me first?" The woman with long black hair asks her. She must have come from her workplace, because she's buttoned in very proper office wear. Natsu can't seem to look away from those captivating eyes. She can only respond with a few small nods at first.

"… I'm Natsu," she says aloud, remembering her manners.

"My name is Kiyoko," the woman introduces herself. "Nice to meet you."

"Big sis' Kiyoko," Natsu echoes.

Kiyoko offers her a very quiet smile.

...

The first half the day's volleyball practice focuses on shuttle running. Natsu and a few other second years take up stopwatches and time the first years for the first set of training. As they finish up five rounds of shuttle runs, Natsu shows her group of first years their timings, which she'd written down on a clipboard.

"We need to cut two seconds off all your times," she tells them. "Think you're up for it?"

The first years are energetic enough to shout their replies. Natsu is pleased with their enthusiasm and sends them off to hydrate themselves. In the marked lane next to Natsu's, Aki is talking to the three juniors assigned to her.

"You all did well! Be sure to take a break first."

The first years nod diligently before breaking away from her.

Despite being someone who set high standards for herself, Aki never did push others to meet her expectations.

"You're being too nice to them," Natsu jogs up to her just to say this. "If you don't tell them to move faster, they'll think that they're fine as they are."

Aki's mouth pinches as she hears this. "Is it really that bad?"

Natsu can only give her a self-explanatory look.

"… I know I'm their senior but sometimes," Aki looks away as she speaks, "sometimes I still find it difficult to be strict with others. It's not really like me."

"You're always strict with me," Natsu coughs.

"Only because it's you," Aki says, sounding both casual and cautious at the same time. Her words seem to linger in the air.

Natsu takes a shallow breath and sweeps the hair out of her eyes as she bends to pick up a stray ball. "That's mean."

"Which part?"

" - Let's resume practice!" Natsu shouts so that the whole gym can hear her.

...

Natsu raises herself onto her tiptoes. She cringes when her brother pats her head so that she falls back to her original height.

"There we go. 156cm. Not bad for a thirteen-year old!" he says as he marks her height against the chart pasted against the wall. Natsu jumps back to examine her growth as well. True, she's grown quite a bit since last summer, but she's nowhere near Kage's height. She's about as tall as her brother was when he was her age. Worry sets itself in the pit of her stomach.

"What if I stay short like you, bro?!" she asks, biting a finger between her teeth. "How am I going to be a good volleyball player?"

"H-hey!" her brother sounds affronted.

"It doesn't matter if you're tall or you're short. The most important thing about a setter is that they'll always be able to send the ball to their teammates," Kage raises his head out of a sports magazine to say.

"You know you could still consider being a wing spiker or a middle blocker," her brother offers helpfully. "Height doesn't really matter as long as you can jump!" He churns his arms back, preparing to demonstrate.

"No. I want to be a setter."

Her brother collapses on the living room floor.

"Good," Kage remarks. Natsu isn't sure if he's referring to the magazine or to her decision.

...

"You have such a soft spot for Aki," Rika says during lunch break. As much as it is an offhand comment, Natsu thinks it's more like a surprise attack.

She leaps onto her feet, not bothering to rearrange her crumpled skirt. There's no one on the roof apart from the two of them, anyway.

"What are you insinuating?!" She leans down and gives Rika what she hopes is her most intimidating expression. She pictures Kage's characteristic glare in her head and tries to copy it.

Rika is unfazed. "Why do you look so surprised, Hinata? Everyone in the team knew about it since we were first years."

Natsu's jaw drops. Impossible!

"It's your fatal flaw as a player, Hinata! Favouritism!" Rika declares as she sets her lunch box aside.

Natsu's back hits the chain-link fence. Rika is cornering her!

"Nanase's just too nice to tell you about it, but as your good companion, I felt that it was my duty to bring it up to you," her friend explains as she picks off a grain of rice from the corner of her mouth. "Everyone assumed that it's because two of you are so close, and we didn't really mind. But the last game made it totally obvious that sometimes you'll choose to send the ball to Aki even though there are better plays available."

Natsu feels guilty all of a sudden.

"Anything to say about that?" Rika crosses her arms and asks.

"I don't, because what you've said is true," Natsu mumbles, rubbing her left elbow sheepishly.

"You're being much more cooperative than I imagined." Her friend seems pleasantly surprised. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Natsu doesn't need to think long for an answer. "Aki and I, we'll train until she can spike through all the balls I send to her. That's what we've always been aiming for. I know I have a habit of sending the ball to her but – sometimes my body just does it before my mind can catch up, and well, I don't know."

"Mm. That sounds good."

"Wait – " Natsu holds a hand up, "You're okay with that?"

"Oh, I am. The whole team probably thinks the same way too. We're all having fun playing volleyball right now so there's nothing major we need to change about our style. I just wanted to make sure the two of you had the right idea," Rika says with a light-hearted shrug. "Just be sure not to let Aki hog the ball. You're the only dependable setter we have, after all."

"I understand." Natsu resolves to keep that in mind.

"And are you going to finish your rice ball? If not, hand it over."

"… Rika, are you going to be the captain when Nanase graduates?"

"You think I have what it takes?"

"Well, you're pretty nosy."

...

"Hey, bro?" she asks her brother when he returns home from work one day, hands crossed behind her back.

"Yeah?" he answers as he shovels a late dinner into his mouth.

"What's it like liking Kage?"

Her brother proceeds to choke on a generous mouthful of rice. Natsu yells in response, and they overturn the entire kitchen as they struggle to get him to clear his airway. They'll have to clean up the mess before their parents get back home, but once the crisis has been averted, she brushes her shoulder-length hair back in place and resumes interrogating her older brother.

"Wh-wh-what d'you mean?" His laugh is weak as he sets an empty glass back on the table. Natsu frowns as she realises that his eyes are darting around the room, avoiding her at all costs. She seats herself across from him at the table and snatches one of his pork cutlets with her hand.

"Bro, it's obvious. And I bet Kage's the one who told you to keep it a secret." Natsu rests her chin on her other hand and stares at him.

Her brother makes a few frustrated noises, but doesn't seem to be able to produce any comebacks. He continues scoffing down his dinner. Natsu knows that he's not ignoring her, but really just trying to stall for time. As she waits for her brother to get over himself and just give her an answer, she checks her phone to see if Aki's replied to her message yet.

When her brother finally speaks, it is in a loud voice: "It's like being happy and wanting to play volleyball with him for the rest of my life!"

Natsu can't help but be perplexed. "That's too simple!"

"Well, it is!" her brother asserts. "You just know that you like them, and nothing really matters after that. It's just like how I feel about volleyball." His cheeks are reddening only slightly and Natsu realises that he isn't going to be of much help to her. Maybe she should go and ask Kage for advice instead…?

"Natsu, you have someone you like too?"

"I don't have to tell you." She sticks her tongue out at him before stealing one more pork cutlet.

...

The rest of the team have already left, leaving her and Aki to pack up the room. Natsu pulls her jersey off over her head and flings it over to where their bags are set against the wall.

"You're always so messy," Aki clicks her tongue as she removes her own shirt. She folds both their shirts neatly together before searching her duffel bag for a clean one to wear. Natsu's throat feels dry, unable to focus on anything apart from Aki's shoulder muscles. As she swallows and tries to divert her attention, she doesn't register the balled up shirt flying at her until it hits the side of her head.

"Don't just stand there in your sports bra," Aki laughs. "And clean up the room like you promised the team."

Natsu wriggles into the fresh shirt, huffing and puffing. "Alright, I'm on it, I'm on it."

It's that special time of the year where the air is getting colder, but not cold enough for them to change into their winter uniforms. Natsu ponders on the fact that there is no word to describe what happens between summer and autumn.

Some of the third years have decided to leave the club early to focus on their university entrance exams, while others have chosen to stay awhile longer to play a few more games with the team. As a result, the club room is a mess with items belonging to seniors who've left and those who haven't. Since it's nearing competition period, they haven't had time to clean the room properly either. Natsu grabs a broom and starts sweeping whatever is in her way.

Behind her, Aki has finally started contributing her share of work. She tidies the shelves of files and trophies, humming the tune of her favourite song. Natsu has heard it loads of times.

"Hey, isn't it weird that it's neither summer nor autumn now?" she asks once she finishes dusting the floor. She collapses next to their bags and looks up at Aki.

"Isn't it officially still summer?"

"Just officially," Natsu points out. "I could say it's autumn, and I wouldn't be wrong. Why isn't there something to describe a combination of the two?"

"Oh. I get it now." Aki lowers herself to sit next to Natsu. She expects Aki to carry the conversation, but her friend doesn't speak for a while.

"Is there a need to give a name to it?"

"…. I'd like to," Natsu whispers, as if it's a secret.

Aki seems to catch on, because she shifts closer without a word. Natsu is the one who makes sure their shoulders are touching.

"Do you know what I think is more important?" Aki begins, her voice as soft as Natsu's had been. Natsu wants to say that she does, because this is her best friend, her closest friend, the only one she will toss the ball to for as long as she can. The only one she wants to toss to even after she stops playing volleyball.

"You know how autumn can only come after the summer?" Aki casts her eyes down, looking almost shy. Natsu hasn't seen Aki's shyness for nearly five years. It's as cute as she remembers it being.

"… I think it's like me and you."

"Hm? How's that?" Natsu asks, hoping that she sounds clueless enough to hide her embarrassment. The rays of the setting sun creep in through the windows of the volleyball clubroom, making her cheeks hotter than they already are.

"Don't play dumb, Natsu," Aki chides her. A smile, knowing and timid and framed by the sunlight, appears on her face. Natsu inches closer, choosing to keep her blank expression even as she grazes her fingertips against Aki's. Their hands lace through one another's under their worn out jerseys.

"Geez, Natsu. Are you trying to test my patience?"

...

She's thirteen and eager to join her middle school's volleyball team. The gym looms out around her, and she thinks its ceilings are awfully high up. Natsu spots another first year girl standing against the wall of the gym, looking lost and uncertain. She's in her gym clothes, so she must be here for either the volleyball or basketball tryouts. As she walks up to her, Natsu notices how the girl keeps shifting her weight from one leg to the other. She must be eager to join, but doesn't know what to do.

"Are you here to tryout too?" Natsu asks her.

The girl nods at her, a small smile emerging on her face. She must be relieved that someone is talking to her.

"Volleyball or basketball?"

"Um, volleyball," she replies in a hushed voice.

"Alright. You just follow me, okay?"

"… Okay!"

...

Natsu can't tell if she is kissing Aki under the summer or autumn sun. As she gets pulled in even closer, the need to put a name to the season completely vanishes as she wraps her arms around strong, strong shoulders.

She wonders if this is what her brother meant by nothing really mattering after all.

* * *

**notes – **

I'm sorry for all the seasons but I'm happy with Natsu (she already strikes me as such a spunky and no-nonsense character as a kid!). And Natsu, I guess, is about six years old in the manga? (making her brother 9/10 years older than her!) But this is just my guess, I haven't come across official material and would be happy if anyone would like to correct my guess with fact

+ any female haikyuu! character gives me strength, I resolve to write more fics about the haikyuu! girls


End file.
